American Bred Episode 2: Love of Fear
by American Companion
Summary: While aiming for Ireland, Katie and the Doctor land a little off course. Fire-breathing horses, an early start on the Women's Movement, and plenty of running begins shortly after.
1. Chapter 1

_Vworp vworp vworp. Thuom._

"And here we are! Out side that door, is Ireland, 800 AD, just 5 years after the Viking Norsemen started invading. You should fit right in."

"I know, dark red hair. But are you serious? We're back in time, just like that?"

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and grinned, his eyebrows rising. "Just like that. Why don't you go take a look?"

Kathryn Moore, usually called Katie, glanced towards the door of the TARDIS. It was her first voluntary trip with the Doctor, her first having started with a sudden transport when she was attacked by aliens on Earth. In the end, she had helped to save an entire race from a slow, painful death, but she had also discovered her clone roots.

She looked back at the Doctor, her mind returning to the present moment. "But this time is past for me. It's not like when you go forward; that's the same as living. This happened and is gone. It's finished, over, never to happen again." Her face became the definition of wonder and exhilaration. "And I get to see it!" She dashed to the door and flung it open.

Katie had only ever lived in one place all her life. She had been to different states, but all those places were hot and muggy and windless, and she was never really pleased with it. She longed for mists and rain and ocean and green land and cold air and moonlight. Now, for the first time, she finally got what she wanted.

She was standing in a clearing in a pine forest. The grass was thick, and the kind of green that only comes naturally. It seemed to be very early morning; the still-bright stars were surrounded by a blackness that was just starting to turn gray. Mist wound its way through the trees, creating veils for them and playing with the dieing moonbeams. Somewhere in the woods, she heard a stream dancing its way along rocks. Nothing stirred as Katie breathed in the scent of wet earth, drank in the cold air, and let herself drown in the sights. Everything was peaceful, perfect.

"Oh that's beautiful! Look at this place! Take us a bit of doing to find anyone, but it's still gorgeous."

"And then you had to ruin it." Katie turned to glare at the Doctor. He was adjusting the color of a brown trench coat he had put on over his dark blue pinstripe suit. "Do you ever stop talking?"

The Doctor seemed slightly miffed. "You shouldn't be saying anything, you talk quite a bit yourself."

"I talk? Have you ever listened to you? You talk more then a talking…thing!"

He turned away, looking for all the world like a five-year old being told he couldn't have candy before dinner. "Not my fault I'm brilliant. I don't choose to have important things to say."

"Important?" Katie laughed. "Right, everything you say is terribly important, like when I was choosing a room and you told me that you had counted the seeds in a banana once and forgot to write it down."

"I only mentioned that because you found my banana tree."

"Exactly! Who has a banana tree growing in a spare bedroom?"

"Well, the same kind of person who has a pool in the library."

That piece of information made Katie pause. "You have a pool. You have a pool…in your library?"

The Doctor flashed a grin that seemed to be tailor made to fit his face. "Yes I do."

The two of them started laughing, adding the sound of their companionship to the dawn chorus.

When they stopped, Katie stood up straight. "Now then. How about we go look for someone? No point going to different times if you never talk to anybody." She started walking off, almost skipping. If she was going to live to be 1000, why not have fun while she was still young? She spun around, still bouncing. "Come on Doctor, you can't be that stuffy. 903 years-ack!"

"Kathryn!" The Doctor ran forward, looking down just in time to see Katie tumbling head over heals down a steep hillside, omitting small (and somehow sarcastic) sounds of pain as she rolled.

* * *

><p>When Katie finally stopped, the first thing she noticed was an oddly familiar sound. She opened her eyes, and her suspicions were confirmed when she found herself staring into the wooly face of a ewe. "Okay, sheep. I can deal with sheep." She gingerly wiggled her fingers and toes, relieved to find them still responding. "At least my back isn't broken." She groaned. "Though it sure feels that way."<p>

Sitting up, she starting checking herself to see if anything else was damaged. Fortunately, besides a gash on her forehead, a nasty cut on her arm, and a sore ankle, it was just scrapes and bruises. She smiled and turned to the sheep that were watching her. "Shouldn't take me too long. Now, how about we see how well I can do this?"

She closed her eyes, but instead of darkness, she saw the landscape. This time, however, it was painted in swirling colors. Everything around her was a very light red, almost yellow. "Of course, light energy won't really be present, it's still early. No help from there." As she spoke, she saw the blue flashes of sound energy from her mouth danced up and out, moving to join the plaintive calls of the sheep. "That's right, sound! But that's not enough. What else do I have?" Searching the landscape with her mind's eye, she noticed that the sheep were a sickly lime green. "There goes heat. But that's the most brain waves I've ever seen! No wonder sheep are so stupid. All that mental energy just comes pouring out. They have no way to retain it."

When Katie had first met the Doctor, she had discovered that, not only was she a clone and an alien, but she could absorb energy as well. Everyone did it; that's how people saw, heard, thought, moved, everything. But for unknown reasons, Katie had been designed to absorb and store the extra energy, or "breath of the universe", as someone had once called it. Whenever she was injured, her body used the energy she stored to heal her. However, if she paused to focus, she could draw in the energy around her even faster and use it to fix whatever was damaged.

This is what she did now. Sitting very still, she pictured all the brain waves of the sheep, and the sounds they were making, becoming a ball of energy in front of her, but not being absorbed. Using her now very sore head, she imagined the energy ball moving down to her ankle. Just as she felt it start to work with an odd tingle-

"Who is that? If ye be trying tae make off wi' the sheep, it wull nae wark!"

Katie's concentration was broken by a thickly accented voice. "Men." She said under her breath. "Last time it was the Doctor. Now some Scottish bloke is inter-" She paused. _Scottish?_ she thought. _I thought we were in Ireland._

"I'm talking tae ye! Who- Och, lass, what ye be doing here?"

She turned to look at him, struggling to stand. She appeared rather annoyed. "I was out for a morning stroll, and decided to fall over a hill and roll down to the bottom. Much faster that way."

The man chuckled. He was tall, with broad shoulders. His hair and eyes were dark and his face shaven. From his breeches and shirt, Katie figured she must be somewhere in the mid 18th century. "Nae need tae get sae worked up, miss. Whar ye from?"

"Nowhere, soon to be everywhere." She snapped back, irritated she had been disturbed. She was still trying to pull herself up using a large boulder she had nearly crashed into on the way down. The man half-smiled and bent down to help her up.

"You luk like ye could use a hand, miss." She reached up and grabbed his bare hand. An electrifying jolt forced them to both let go. Katie felt the cut on her arm start to close as the man stepped back, his eyes wide.

"Wha was that?"

Katie knew what it was. She had just pulled energy out of the young man into her. But how was she supposed to explain it? _I'll have to be sure not to touch anyone,_ she thought.

"Kathryn!" She gave a quiet sigh of relief. The Doctor had arrived. The perfect distraction.

"I'm over here Doctor!"

He was coming down the hill as quickly as he could, moving sideways so he didn't start rolling the way Katie had done. "You alright?"

"A few bruises, a couple of cuts, a sore ankle, a man from the 18th century that sounds Scottish…other than that, yeah, I'm fine."

He pulled up short. He looked from the man, who was now staring at them both, to Katie. "We're in Scotland?"

Katie, who by now had finished standing up and was leaning on the boulder, glared at him. "Yeah, Scotland. Middle of the 18th century. You said we were in-"

The Doctor cleared his throat, cutting her off. Moving effortlessly into a Scottish brogue, he admonished her. "Kathryn, I think that bump on your head temporarily addled your mind. You've certainly forgotten your manners." He turned to the man and held out his hand, that grin on his face again. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. This is Kathryn Moore. I must apologize for her rudeness. She wasn't raised as well as some."

"Now look here-!"

The man shook his head and took the Doctor's hand, smiling. "Nae trouble at a'. It isn't every day ye find a bonny lass in the middle of yer flock. Maun be because of the day. Name's Liam Hastings. I wark for the Dixon family. 'Tis their land ye stumbled across."

"Excuse me, did you say Dixon?"

"That I did."

The Doctor peered at nothing, muttering to himself. "Dixon. I've heard that name before. Dixon."

Katie snorted gently, then asked, "What's today?"

Liam laughed. "Ye maun of both lived in the woods for quite a while. 'Tis May day, and the Dixon's wull be sore pleased tae have mair guests. Fallow me, strangers. Though, I think ye should have yer faither be the one tae help ye. Mistress Dixon wull hae something tae treat yer wounds."

"Yes. Quite. We'll catch up in a moment," the Doctor said, pulling himself back to the moment.

He turned to Katie, who by now was fuming. "He thinks I'm your daughter? I don't even look like you! Or sound like you. How did you change your accent so fast anyway? And why are we here instead of Ireland? You promised me Ireland."

"If you keep overreacting this way, I'm going to lock you in King Tut's tomb. Just breathe, and be happy we're here."

Katie closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. When she opened them again, she had an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry Doctor. Long day. Now, help me up, and we'll figure out what we're supposed to tell them as a back story. I haven't actually named a hometown yet, so we're still good there. I don't look like you, so we could say you adopted me, perhaps? You found me while you were traveling and let me come with you."

The Doctor bobbed his head in agreement. "Mneh, it's the truth, at least. Works for me." He looked at her askance. "Just be sure you don't go pulling that dagger out on anyone."

She glanced down at her belt where her Grixzen dagger was. She had used it to kill the last person who attacked her. "As long as you don't go offering me in marriage, '"Dad"', it will stay right where it is. I still have one question though."

"And that would be..."

"Why are we here instead of where you said we were going?"

"I don't know. I'll have to ask the TARDIS when we get back."

Katie gasped. "I knew it! She is alive! I thought I felt something different about her, but I figured it was the time-travel stuff. How do you talk to her?"

"I just talk. She tells me what she wants through emotions." The Doctor seemed distracted. His forehead was wrinkled slightly, as though he was trying to find something in his mind. "Dixon. I feel like I should know that one."

Katie playfully shoved him and grinned. "Oh, stop worrying about it! We're going to a May day celebration!"

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later, Katie was sitting in a beautifully constructed house with her foot up on a pillow, talking with the Dixon's 13 year old daughter, Elizabeth. Her wounds had been taken care of by Mistress Dixon. Mrs. Dixon was a gentle woman, with gold hair and fair skin. She was about 5 feet tall, and seemed to be in her late thirties. The Doctor was off somewhere talking to Mr. Dixon, having left Katie on her own. Rather gratefully, it seemed to Katie.

The Dixon's were obviously an old family, judging by the rows of portraits on the walls. Unlike the thick accent of Liam, the Dixon's speech was closer to London then Edinburgh, Scotland's capitol. Their house was in a glen over-looking a loch.

"How old are you Kathryn?" Elizabeth asked.

"Please call me Katie. I'm 15, depending on who's counting."

"What do you mean by that? You're either 15, or you aren't."

Katie smiled, trying to picture Elizabeth's face if she was to tell her the truth. "In some ways, I haven't been born yet. However, I've lived 15 years."

Elizabeth tilted her head. "That's a funny sort of riddle."

Katie laughed. "Let me know if you figure it out."

"Oh I will. I'm good at solving things."

"I think this one will be too hard for you. What year is it?"

It was Elizabeth's turn to laugh. "You must have hit your head harder than we first thought. It's 1742, May the 1st. This afternoon we're having a dance up here. They're such fun." Elizabeth's expression sobered, and then her face turned a bit red. "Ah, I hope I don't offended you by asking this, but why are you wearing men's clothes?"

Katie stared blankly at Elizabeth, then realized what she meant. "Oh! You mean my jeans. It's bit complicated, you see…" She licked her lips, doing her best to appear embarrassed, hoping her story would sound convincing. "I'm not really the Doctor's daughter. Not by blood, anyway. He found me not too long ago. I had recently been attacked, and though I was able to escape, my clothes were torn beyond repair. He took me to a hospital to recover, and when I did, he asked me if I wanted to travel with him. I have no living family, and no place else to go, so I accepted. As he doesn't have much extra money, and hardly carries dresses around with him, I had to wear men's clothes. And really, I don't mind. It's far easier to move around in them."

Elizabeth's eyes had grown wide, but she appeared sympathetic. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

Katie smiled reassuringly at her, grateful her story had worked. "It's alright."

Elizabeth looked Katie up and down, scrutinizing her. "I'm tall for my age. You're about my size. I think you would be able to fit into one of my dresses for tonight."

"What do mean?"

"What you wear every other day doesn't matter to me, but on May day, in front of people who will be a bit quicker to judge you, you need a dress to wear. I have some that would fit." She nodded decisively, stopping any arguments Katie might have had. "Yes, I think you'd better wear the green one, though the blue one would also fit your hair color. Can you walk yet? We don't have to be ready until noon, and I would like to show you around."

Katie decided to just go with the girl's decisions. Except for the high school dance that had turned into a mini hostage situation, she hadn't worn a dress for years. _Still, it might be fun._ she thought to herself. _Anyway, I really would love to see this place._

"Sure, walking isn't a problem." She swung her leg down to the floor with a thud and stood up, then started untying the bandage around her head. "Right then. Lead the way, Miss Dixon."

Elizabeth lifted her eyebrows teasingly. "My mother is going to get upset if her patient starts deciding when the wrappings come off."

Inwardly, Katie berated herself. She had already forgotten that people didn't heal rapidly in the 18th century. If she took off the bandage now, and Elizabeth saw that her wounds were already healed, questions would be asked that would prove hard to answer.

"Right. Sorry. I just never liked bandages, especially not when they're falling in my eye."

Elizabeth held out her hand and smiled. "Never mind that. Let's go."

* * *

><p>The Doctor stood in front of a large library window, watching Kathryn follow Elizabeth into the forest with a shrug and a light smile. He lifted his glass to his lips, then remembered it was red wine and set it down. He had only taken it to be polite. Alcohol damaged brain cells, so he always did his best to avoid it.<p>

"Our children seem to be getting along quite well, Doctor. I'm pleased. Elizabeth doesn't see many children her own age. I simply hope your daughter doesn't affect her adversely."

Mister Dixon was a tall man, even taller than the Doctor. He gave off the impression of having been starched and ironed with his clothes, which made the Doctor uncomfortable. He would have rather been with the shepherds, but as a guest and an (literally) acting physician, he couldn't afford to be rude. He just hoped that Kathryn could do the same.

"I can't say I approve of the clothes she wears, but I suppose it would be far easier to travel without the heavy skirts of a woman's dress. Kathryn doesn't much look like you, Doctor. Does she take after her mother?"

"I wouldn't know. I never met her mother." The words were out before the Doctor realized his blunder. How was he supposed to cover for it now?

Mr. Dixon narrowed his eyes slightly. "You must have met her mother, sir, in order to hold the claim that you are her father."

The Doctor cleared his throat, coming up with a sketchy, but mostly true, account. "I'm not really her father, Mr. Dixon. I found Kathryn running from attackers. She had managed to get away, but she was severely injured. I took her to a place to rest, and once she had I gave her the option of traveling with me. She accepted with little hesitation."

"What of her family? Do they know of Kathryn's whereabouts?"

"She never speaks of them, and the few times I have asked, she refuses to answer. I can only assume they are not alive."

Mr. Dixon nodded, believing he understood. "I see. She must have grown up on the streets after her parents died, the poor child. It was good of you to take her in, considering." He inhaled the fumes and tasted the wine, staring out the window as if he had personally put life into motion.

_Considering what? That she wasn't a moneyed lout like you are? If you only knew who she really was, you'd swear off that stuff for the rest of your life._ It was during moments like these the Doctor was very glad human's were not telepathic.

Something appeared in the corner of the Doctor's eye. He always paid attention to the corner of his eye, so he turned. Several servants were standing together, talking worriedly. In any other household, the Doctor never would have cared. But here, everything moved smoothly, and he could tell Mr. Dixon would take no slacking off. The Doctor cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll just poke around a little bit, take a walk round outside, you know."

"Of course." Mr. Dixon barely glanced up as he refilled his glass. "Feel free to go anywhere you like." He lifted the glass and swallowed, already lost in his own clouded mind.

The Doctor left him to it. He sauntered out onto the lawn where tables were being set up and a space cleared for dancing. He walked quietly up to the cluster of servants, and caught the tail end of their discussion.

"I'm telling ye, nae guid will come o' it. Ye a' heard it yestreen, while the moon was shining fu', wailing awa'. Emma here even saw it."

The one the Doctor assumed was Emma nodded fervently. Another servant spoke up.

"Aye, I dinna care how special the day is, someone's going tae be deid before midnicht."

"What makes you say that?"

The three turned to where the Doctor was leaning against the stable wall.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it was impolite to eavesdrop?"

The Doctor tilted his head back a bit, even though Emma was shorter than he was. "You're the one that saw it, aren't you? What did it look like?"

"I dinna think it's any of your business. Did Dixon send you tae check up on us? Try to get us to turn each other in for a few pennies?"

"Emma…" one of the men cautioned, placing a hand on her arm. She pulled away.

"I dinna care if I get the sack. I'm thinking o' quitting anyway. I'm tired of coming across hooseholds where the ones hiring me ayeways try to create discord amang the servants."

The Doctor cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to himself. He flashed a small wallet with physic paper, making them believe him when he said, "I'm the Doctor. I'm an expert on the subject of Res Ut Planto Sanus in Obscurum. I deal in strange sightings." He slipped the wallet back into his coat pocket. "Now, Emma. Tell me what you saw."

The anger that had defined her face a moment before dissolved into fear and worry. "It was frichtsome sir. I was awake late, finishing my chores, when I heard the clock sound out."

"What was the time?"

"11:45. I looked out one of the windows on the second floor. Everything was siller because of the fu' moon, and that's when I saw her. She looked like a normal person at first, with her cloak hood up. Then she turned, and looked right up at the window I was in. I could nae move. She pushed back her hood, and her long gray hair fell out, floating aboot her face. Then she screamed a long, wailing, mourning sort o' scream. I nearly died of fright right then."

Emma's eyes were wide with honesty and remembered terror. "When she stopped, she simply vanished. Nae trace of her left, save that unearthly wail. It seemed tae be everywhere. I knew then that it was her." Eliza swallowed hard, then spoke quietly. "It 'twas a Banshee, the foreteller of death."

* * *

><p>"A Banshee? Are you sure?"<p>

Elizabeth gave Katie a look. "I'm positive. I saw it clear as day."

"You sure you didn't have eggs and pickles for dinner the night before?" Katie asked, amused. She held back a tree branch for Elizabeth to walk past.

"That sounds disgusting." Elizabeth said, making a face. Then she sobered. "I'm serious, Katie. If you had been there, you would have been terrified too."

Katie smiled lightly. "I doubt it. Not much scares me." She abruptly spun around, her arms crossed. "What about you? Do you ever get scared? Why don't you some out and tell us about it."

A young man, not much older than Katie, walked out from behind a tree. He looked a lot like Elizabeth did, with light brown hair and bluish eyes.

"John! What are you doing here? I told you to stop following me." Elizabeth said, almost scolding.

He crossed his arms. "Mother doesn't want you out here by yourself. You're getting older, Elizabeth, and you need to start acting that way."

"For your information, blind man, I am with someone, and she seems to be a better companion then you are. Why didn't you just come out and say you were there?"

"Well, technically he did, if you were listening." Katie interjected. She started gesturing with her hands as she paced back and forth, acting like a math teacher explaining a problem that is simple only to her. "He was sitting under a rowan tree, pretending not to watch us, when we left your house. He stubbed his toe on a root shortly after he started following us, I did hear the word you used and I'm certain your mother didn't teach it to you. Two minutes after that he stepped on a twig and ducked behind a tree when he thought you saw him even though you were looking at a bird. He nearly broke out laughing several times while you told me about the banshee, and really John-it is John isn't it?"

Elizabeth's brother nodded, speechless. Katie launched right back into her monologue.

"And really John, if you want to follow people without being seen, don't breathe through your mouth! You sounded like Darth Vader with all that" Katie make several exaggerated inhaling and exhaling noises.

John held up a finger. He blinked, obviously lost. He started to say something, stopped, then started again. "Darth Vader?"

Katie clicked her teeth together. "Yeaah, long story. Elizabeth did have a point though. Why didn't you simply step out and say you were there?"

"You can't watch a person discreetly when you're in the open."

Katie nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right. Anyway, now you're here, and I get the feeling you won't walk off whatever it is we might do." She suddenly noticed where John's attention was focused. She frowned. "Yes, I am wearing pants and a long-sleeved, button-down shirt. You have a problem with that?"

He glared at her. "I do. Women should not be wearing men's clothes. It's indecent. A woman's place is in the home, tending to a households needs, not gallivanting about the woods, pretending to own the freedom a man is entitled to."

Katie fell silent for a few seconds, her jaw working as she forced herself to bite back her immediate response. Then, in a quiet, sharp tone, she said, "I'll make you a deal. When you can live a week sewing, knitting, running a household, taking care of children, gardening, washing, mending, taking un-needed, undeserved scorn from ignorant, lazy, stuck up men, and in general do everything a woman does, while wearing heavy skirts, without complaining or raising your voice even once, come back and tell me a woman doesn't have the right to at least have the relief of wearing clothes that don't interfere with the chores prigs like you set up for us." She turned to Elizabeth. "Come on. Your brother obviously doesn't want to be seen with indecent girls like us."

John stiffened. "I did not intend to imply-"

"Oh, but you did." Katie walked up to John and searched his face, settling on his eyes. "And you know what? You need to change your "intentions" if you want your future wife to be won with something other than your father's money and her father's handshake." She turned on her heal and stalked off farther into the woods, calling to Elizabeth, who smirked at her brother and followed.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Half an hour later, at around 9 o'clock in the morning, Elizabeth and Katie returned. They walked past John, who was back under the rowan tree, without looking at him. He had returned and been waiting there ever since Katie had talked to him. He didn't move, but just watched as they ignored him.

The Doctor also saw Katie and Elizabeth arrive. Elizabeth went over to where her mother was directing the set up of tables and the clearing away of sticks and rocks and things for the dancing, then followed her inside. Katie, however, practically pranced over to where the Doctor was walking back and forth, waving his screwdriver around and generally looking puzzled. He kept returning to one spot on the lawn.

"So, Doctor, have you found the screaming banshee yet?"

He glanced at her. "Where did you hear about that? You've been wandering around the forest with…. Ooooh. She heard it too."

"Better than that," Katie said, wrinkling her nose for a moment. "I have a full description."

"Tall woman, long gray hair, dark cloak, freaky scream."

Katie seemed a bit put out that the Doctor already knew this, but it passed. Instead, she asked a question. "Which person told you?"

He paused in his searching to look at her. She felt as though he was telling her she had missed the obvious. "You said it when we stopped by your school. The janitors are the only ones who bother to see what's going on." He crouched down again and turned the sonic screwdriver back on.

She gave him a contrary smile. "How did you manage to get this one to tell you? Did you have to muck out the stables? Brush a horse? Make tea?"

"No, I told her I was an expert on the subject of Res Ut Planto Sanus in Obscurum. It sounded impressive enough that she believed me."

Katie blinked at him, her face almost blank. Then, hesitantly, as though she couldn't quite believe what she was saying, she said, "Res Ut Planto Sanus in Obscurum. You told a maid that you were an expert on things that go bump in the night?"

"Yep," he said, popping the 'p'. "Well, technically I told her I was an expert on things that make sounds in darkness. Well, I said it in Latin so it would sound better. But basically."

Katie broke into a huge smile. "That…is genius. I mean seriously, that is brilliant. You don't even have to bother with fancy titles. You can just whip out some stupid saying, speak it in another language, and no one knows the difference. I have got to use that sometime.

"Now, next statement/question/thing. Banshees can't possibly be real. I mean, they're just a story. There aren't really women's ghosts that go wandering around, mourning the dead before they die."

He seemed somehow offended at this statement. "By that measure, tree's made of energy can't be real, clones don't exist, and time travel is impossible. Any other questions with obvious answers?"

Katie was quick to defend herself. "But banshees? I mean, they're just a myth. They don't actually exist."

The Doctor turned off his screwdriver and stood up. "Myth has to start somewhere. I just hope this one isn't true. Are you picking up anything?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm getting unusual energy readings from this spot right here." With his palm parallel to the ground, he waved his hand in a small circle, just big enough for one person to stand on.

Bending down, Katie squinted at the spot, as though that would help her. "No. I don't feel anything different, and I don't see anything when I blink. Just how are these readings 'unusual'?"

"The sonic is picking it up as brthintemthumb particles, but there's something else there too. Something…." The Doctor ripped up some of the grass, smelled it, ate it, and spat it out. He made a face. "Something that tastes rather metallic, with a dash of dirt, and a bit of salt. Transporter? But Emma didn't say she saw a transport. Kathryn." He turned toward her. "Did Elizabeth see any flashes of light? Did she say?"

"No, no lights. What are '"birthing tom thumb'" particles?"

"Exactly like they sound, that's why I gave them the name. When activated you become about the size of a thumb. Horribly uncomfortable and makes travel a bit slow, so I would not recommend it. Thing is, in order to use them properly and not simply become a thumb sized blob of densely packed molecules, you have to have one of the controllers." He brushed his hair back with one hand, his stare somehow blank and intense at the same time. "But those are extremely hard to make, so either this banshee is exceptionally clever, or she's a marvelous thief. Unfortunately, I'm leaning towards clever, because using a transporter without the visible energy takes a brilliant person."

"Couldn't she have shrunk herself and then used the transporter? If it flashes, and she were to use it while she was the size of a thumb, it wouldn't have made much light to be seen. The grass is tall enough that it would hide it."

The Doctor stared at Katie. He seemed as though he approved, but only because she had just confirmed something he already knew. "Very good." She almost heard him snap back into his usual state (even if she wasn't sure he **had** a usual state).

"Now, if she used a transporter," he said, crouching down again and holding the sonic to his ear as he adjusted it, "it might be a bit difficult, but if I can just pick up what's left of the signal, I might be able to reverse it."

"Is that really such a good idea," Katie said, lifting an eyebrow. "I mean, there are plenty of people around, setting things up. If you bring something out of their legends here, it's going to be a major pain keeping everyone calm."

He looked up at her and blinked. She could tell he felt a bit put out, but he nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Except now, the only trouble is that I have to wait for this whole thing to get started. I hate watching time pass as it should. Gets borings."

Katie rolled her eyes. She knew he meant no real offense, but she figured she'd better get him something to do. "Since you're bored, I've got a puzzle for you to solve, along with a suggestion. First, the puzzle. Earlier, when the shepherd found us, and tried to help me up, I ended up sucking the energy straight out of him. I felt it jump from his body to mine. I wouldn't be so surprised, except when you helped me up, and I grabbed your hand, nothing happened. There was no shift. The question: why?

"Second is the suggestion. If you can use the sonic to detect the transport signal, couldn't you simply follow it on foot? The party doesn't actually start for a few hours."

The Doctor stared at her as though he couldn't believe the obviousness of her suggestion or the fact he hadn't thought of it himself. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Obviously."

Ignoring Katie's dry tone, he gave her a suspicious look. "And while I hunt down a dangerous creature, what will you be doing to pass the time?"

The thought, _His Scottish accent makes him sound like a policeman questioning a suspect,_ whisked through Katie's mind as she shrugged. "I'll probably be following you. You're the guy with the alien gizmo, and I think the people here can get along just fine without me. So, lead on Doctor. Let's discover the girl behind the myth."

With his mouth tilted in a half smile, the Doctor did an about face and walked directly into the woods Katie had just left, sonic held in front of him. Because of his long legged stride, Katie had to go into a half jog to keep up. She had a slightly miffed expression on her face.

"I was heading towards her in the first place? That's not right."

"No, that's right. Why wouldn't it be?"

"No I mean…" she gave a huff through her nose. "Never mind. Are you able to multi-task? To any sort of extent?"

The Doctor paused, swung the screwdriver to the side, and started walked again. "Of course I can. You saw me flying the TARDIS. Why do you ask?"

"Flying a ship is just one thing, however many levers you may pull."

"No, why would you even need to ask someone about multi-tasking? Humans do it on a regular basis."

"Females do. Men usually don't. I've honestly met boys who can't walk and talk at the same time. I thought you might be one."

"Are you always so rude?"

The way the Doctor was somehow ignoring her and giving her his full attention intrigued Katie while annoying her. "It comes with the nationality. Anyway, it's Q & A time. Tell me more about the things that attacked me before I crash landed in your closet. The Grixzen."

"Mercenary race who will do anything for the right price, but they always finish the job."

"Yeah, yeah, you told me that part. What business would they have on Earth?"

"Because-" the doctor held the screwdriver next to his ear, hit it against his hand, and kept going, "they were obviously after your transporter."

Katie's eyes became a half-lidded look of exasperation. "I already figured out that part. Who sent them after the transporter? Who even knew about it? I myself thought it was just a fun rock until a few days ago. Why would anyone need it? Why did I end up in the TARDIS?"

"Probably the Krize, the Krize again, to find the Rahki, and because I was there."

"Pardon?"

Once again, his tone plainly said she was thinking too slow. "The Krize probably sent them after it, so the Krize were the ones to know about it. Find the transporter a Jahra is carrying and you find the Rahki who made that Jahra. The transporter works across space, not time, so it did its job by going to the right place in space. That rhymes, right place in space. Anyway, you ended up on the TARDIS because I was in the right place at that moment in time."

Katie thought about that for a moment. "Okay, I get it now. Except the Krize. Who are they?"

"A race that have been battling the Rahki for several thousand years. Ah, here we are!"

The Doctor pushed through a few final branches into a clearing. Katie, who had been following him closely, hung back as the Doctor started talking again and walked in a circle. "Hmmm. Nothing, yet the screwdriver says it ends here. What do you-." He turned around, poised on one foot. "Kathryn?"

"I'm over here, you brown flamingo." She came out of the bushes behind him and gave him another half-lidded stare. "I think you have a weird thing for walking right into situations that could be lethal."

"Only way to do it," he answered, wagging his eyebrows and smiling.

Katie sighed, but the corners of her mouth twitched as she reigned in a smile. "Whatever. If you get shrunk into a blob of molecules, don't blame me." Walking around the clearing and gesturing with her hands, she began describing the scene to no one in particular. "So what have we got? Near as I can see, we have grass, trees, and bushes, the large rock sticking up out of the ground, and a nifty pile of dirt that comes up to my knee-cap and spreads out for a diameter of about 3 feet. Why would there be a really large pile of dirt in the middle of a forest?"

Crouching down next to the dirt, the Doctor inspected it using the screwdriver. He frowned in thought, stuck his hand in the dirt to grab some, and promptly tasted it. Making a face, he smelled it, then his face lit up in a smile. He turned towards Katie, who was watching him like he'd gone mad.

"Look at this," the Doctor proudly exclaimed as he stood and thrust the dirt at Katie. She felt like a mother of a bug-holding five year old.

"Yes, I can see that it is indeed dirt. Why do we care?"

"Because of what's in the dirt, or rather, what isn't in the dirt. Here," he said, pouring some of it into Katie's hand, "look at this and tell me if you can figure it out."

Katie stared at the dirt, and spread it out over her hand. "There aren't any rocks," she answered hesitantly.

"Well, besides that."

She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not seeing it."

"That's because it isn't in the sight," the Doctor said. "It's in the smell. This soil has no scent. Everything has an odor, even sand, but this doesn't."

"I'll bite. Why?"

The smile left the Doctor's face. "I haven't figured that out yet. Nothing had been taken out of it, and the smell isn't being masked. There simply is no scent."

"Well if she didn't pop down to the corner market for a can of air-freshener, then she obviously used something else. Besides, isn't scent just small particles of whatever the thing is drifting into your nose? Maybe she found some way to keep the molecules from drifting. Check to see if anything has been added."

The Doctor didn't seemed bothered by Katie's command as he scanned the dirt pile. He seemed puzzled by the readings.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. The sonic isn't recognizing it." The Doctor's face scrunched up and he looked at his screwdriver as though through bifocals. Katie dusted her hands off.

"You'll just have to ask the banshee if we see her again. What I want to know is why whoever it is would act this way. Do they get a kick out of it? Do they feel as though they're doing the family a favor? Do they simply feel like giving people the chills? If they really do foretell the death of someone, how do they know?"

"Some species can smell the decay of cells before the person realizes it. Drives them mad when they go to a cemetery. Other's just watch and wait. If you know what you're looking for, you can usually find it. Did you know that the Rahki actually have on average the best senses of any other species?"

Katie's face went purposefully blank of emotion. "If you don't mind, I'm really not in the mood to hear the Rahki praised."

"Have to face it someday," the Doctor answered, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I've only known for a day, fly-boy. I know what I am, and for the moment that's good enough for me." Katie's face became animated again, and the Doctor watched with amusement and a speck of pride as Katie paced, gesturing as she spoke. "Now, we have a mysterious pile of dirt, no screaming lady, a trail gone cold, and a party to attend. The pile of dirt is something we have to ask the screaming lady about. We don't have the screaming lady and are unlikely to find her anytime soon, seeing as the trail has gone cold. The only reasonable course of action is to attend the party and wait for her to show up to fulfill her own prophecy of death." Katie turned on her heal, facing the direction they would have to take to reach the house.

"Forward!"

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

"There you are, Katie! I've been searching for you. We need to figure out a proper outfit for you to wear."

Katie looked over her shoulder at the Doctor, who was coming out of the woods behind her. "See you in a bit. I can't wait to find out what you plan to wear."

* * *

><p>"My room's just up the steps."<p>

"Elizabeth, I don't believe you've introduced me to your friend yet."

Katie and Elizabeth turned to see Mr. Dixon striding towards them. Katie was nearly floored by the scent of alcohol wafting off of him, though his appearance was immaculate. She glanced at Elizabeth, who didn't seem to notice anything. She thought it might be because Elizabeth was used to it.

In spite of the smell, Katie was impressed; his words were only the slightest bit slurred, and his smile was broad. If it wasn't for the fact that Elizabeth looked tense enough to snap, Katie would have thought him to be a perfect gentleman and the finest of fathers. "You must be the Doctor's child. Kathryn, isn't it?"

Katie held her hands folded in front of her. She dipped, as if to curtsy. "Yes sir," she said, forcing herself to sound meek. Mr. Dixon was still smiling, but now he looked just a bit sympathetic. Katie could hear the slight bite to his words.

"Your foster father has told me of your unfortunate origins, and the reasons behind your garb. My daughter is about your size, if you should wish to borrow one of her gowns. I am sure you would be glad to wear a woman's proper outfit again. I would imagine you have had to go through many things dressed as you are."

She noted that he hadn't asked his daughter her opinion on the arrangement, but continued to smile lightly. "Indeed sir, your daughter has already offered to share her clothes with me. I have certainly suffered insults at the hands of men, a few of your own station, in fact."

"Truly?" His eyes became hard, and his voice lost a bit of its warmth as he turned to his child. "Elizabeth, if you had already decided to allow our guest to be dressed as she should, why have you not taken her to your room as of yet?"

"It was only upon my insistence, sir," Katie interjected. "I had no wish to destroy the fine work your wife did on my wounds." She gestured to her arm and head.

Mr. Dixon smiled again, seemingly appeased. "I understand. I wondered, Miss…"

"Moore."

"I wondered, Miss Moore, if you had met my son Jonathon yet. He is about your age, and will one day own my lands."

"I have met him sir. We spoke earlier. I must confess I could not comprehend where he got his knowledge base from, but I now see his role model."

"Yes, he is a wonderful boy," Mr. Dixon beamed. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must see to a few arrangements for today. Farewell."

Elizabeth relaxed as her father returned to the library. She gave a mirthless laugh. "Arrangements. Only the ones that apply to his drinks. Now, Katie, we do need to get ready. I have to find you a dress that will actually fit."

* * *

><p>Katie had never seen that many dresses, patterns, and cloth types in one place before. Even when she had passed stores devoted entirely to dresses, she had never seen so many. At least it felt that way. When you added the shifts, aprons, underskirts, and other bits of clothing that were for who knew what, it made her feel as though she could clothe a town and still have leftover bits.<p>

While Katie was dazed beyond hope, Elizabeth was in her element. She was buzzing about, muttering to herself as she inspected the gowns, pulling even more clothes out of a large trunk until Katie wondered if it was bigger on the inside the same way the TARDIS was. Elizabeth kept holding dresses up next to Katie's face, judging it with a practiced eye.

"Green would show the hair, but it would cancel out the eyes. Red would make your eyes pop out, but it would have to exactly match your hair to work." She snapped her fingers. "I know. Just wait right there." Elizabeth fairly flew to the other side of the room, madly searching for something. Katie took the chance to look around.

While not exactly large, the room was far from tiny, being about 25 ft by 25 ft. The bed was queen sized, and had a multitude of pillows and blankets. The walls were of polished oak, and an ornate fireplace was set up to spread the heat around the room evenly.

In various places where the light from the large windows and the fireplace would show them off best, several paintings were hung. One was a landscape, with a lake in front and mountains behind. Another was a man and a woman sitting together under a tree, looking at sights unknown, but it was clear that they were deeply in love. On the opposite wall was a picture of a saddled and bridled horse having a staring match with a man sitting on the ground. Katie could see the smug look on the horses face, and the frustration in the man's posture.

The final one, and the one Katie instantly fell in love with, was of a young girl dressed in black, standing in front of a grave. Her eyes were closed. Everything was black and white, except for the bright yellow flowers the girl was holding. Half way to the ground, a small spot depicted a tear. Each picture was so life-like it seemed as though moments in time had been frozen for all eternity.

"Who painted these? They're wonderful."

Elizabeth looked over at Katie, a dark blue dress in her hands. "I did."

Katie looked at her, impressed. "Really? Wow. I wish I could do paint like that."

"It's nothing really. Turn around, I need to see if this one will do." She held the dress up and nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, this will work beautifully. And if I put some white roses in your hair, you will have no problem finding a dancing partner."

Katie pulled Elizabeth's arms down, being sure not to touch her skin. "What do you mean, nothing? Those paintings are the best I've seen, and trust me, I've seen plenty. If you tried to sell them, even if they were half as good, you'd be able to live quite well for 6 months!"

"Keep your voice down," Elizabeth hissed. She glanced at the window and moved Katie back to the bed. "I can't let anyone in the house know that I paint. As far as they're concerned, my cousin Gregory paints them. He covers for me whenever I go to his house in the summer. I always visit for two months, and I do almost nothing but paint. Then, I bring home a few and say that Gregory gave them to me."

"But why can't you tell your family? A talent like yours shouldn't be kept hidden."

"Father doesn't think women should do anything that might turn into a living. He says it tricks us into thinking we can be independent, and that's dangerous."

Katie snorted. "For them, maybe. He's just worried that you'll stop obeying everything he says."

Elizabeth pressed her lips into a straight line. "Perhaps women are allowed to live as they please where you come from, but here it's different. A woman is expected to grow up, get married, and raise a family. We obey our fathers before marriage and our husbands after."

"Why? Why should a woman have to obey a man in everything?"

Elizabeth was caught off guard by the question, but soon had an answer. "Well, they're just better than we are. They're smarter for one thing, and stronger as well, in both mind and will."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I'll grant that men can be stronger physically, but as for brains, they're no better than we are. Your world only deems it fit for a man to have schooling beyond the basics. Men aren't smarter; they're simply given the chance to learn.

"In the case of whose will is stronger, I'd have to say we're about equal in our own ways. Women usually shift words around and then stand our ground. Men aren't so good with the words, but many times, when they need to stand they stand. Women in your world only seem to be weaker because men get to them at an early age."

Elizabeth was shocked and puzzled at what Katie was saying. "What you're saying… I've been told the exact opposite my entire life."

"By who? Your father. He was probably brought up that way, and now he's raising you and your brother to think the same. It's not his fault, he just doesn't know any better." Katie locked eyes with Elizabeth, making sure she was paying attention. "You are a wonderful, valuable woman, Elizabeth Dixon. You just have to wake up and see it."

Elizabeth stared back, searching, trying to see if Katie honestly meant it. "Your words sound good, but it isn't that easy." She stood abruptly and smiled. "However, getting married is still in the plan, whoever you may be, and I'm going to use my artistic talents to make you perfect."

* * *

><p>The Doctor stood out on the lawn, waiting for Kathryn to show up. It was nearing noon, when the guests would come in full force. The fiddler had already arrived, and a circle had been cleared around the rowan tree, which would serve as a natural Maypole. He didn't mind crowds; he loved people, but he was worried that Kathryn might start a riot. He had realized to late that Kathryn would probably meet up with Mr. Dixon, and he worried about what she might say to him, or to Elizabeth.<p>

He saw Elizabeth come out of the house, quivering with barely concealed joy and mischief. Watching the door, he nearly burst out clapping at her accomplishment.

Kathryn's earlier disheveled appearance from her roll down the hill had been erased. Her hair was now done up in braids, part of it still hanging loose, with 3 snow white roses sitting just so in her hair. The modest dark blue dress Elizabeth had picked out managed to flatter her flawless pale skin, accentuate her ginger hair color, and make her glowing green eyes fairly pop out of her head. She wore a simple silver necklace that looked like a small 1 inch sword with a Celtic knot as its hilt. She still wore her emergency pouch, but as it was part of a brown leather belt, it wasn't to out of place. Her dagger clashed a bit, but it was well sheathed, something the Doctor was grateful for. A long leather string around her neck showed where she was still wearing the transporter that had landed her in his ship.

She was not the most beautiful woman he had seen. No, another human held that place in his heart and mind. But the Doctor knew that many young men would either have broken hearts or missing hands by the end of the party.

He only had a few seconds to think this, for Kathryn crossed straight over to where he was. As she neared, he could see that her jaw was set, and she was mad about something. Almost growling, she said, "I hate dresses. I really do despise dresses."

Acting as though he honestly hadn't noticed, yet still being the gentleman he was, he told her, "Actually I thought you looked rather good for a clone. Why do you have such a problem with skirts anyway?"

"Oh I have nothing against skirts, if others are wearing the blasted things. But whenever I put one on, something always happens. If I look even moderately good, something really horrid happens. And what with the way Elizabeth over there can match colors," she gestured towards Elizabeth, who was re-entering the house. "Let's just say we're doomed."

"Do I need to know what sort of mishaps have occurred while you were wearing a skirt?"

"It involves near-kidnappings, dislocated appendages, angry microwaves, 26 stitches, and a demolished fruit stand. Each of those was from a different occasion. The last time I wore a dress I ended up with aliens chasing me, crashing into the TARDIS, and turning into a clone. I hate wearing dresses."

Kathryn cocked her head and looked hard at the Doctor. "You combed your hair," she stated. "And you changed your shirt and tie. I'm impressed." She stood for a moment, as if debating whether or not to say more. In an offhanded fashion, she commented, "You look good."

The Doctor nodded, not sure if he should be taking her seriously. As guests showed up, he saw a way out of the conversation. "Oh look, more people! And the fiddler is starting up."

Kathryn gave a half-smile. The Doctor wondered for a split second why she never seemed to be able to give a really complete smile. "Oh joy. Plenty of people my age, many of them male. Won't this be fun."

"Now, be nice. Don't go actually injuring any of them. One might be an ancestor for your original."

"Then I'll leave them with a good story to tell. Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'll join in the dancing. It should be fun, avoiding all those people while mingling. Ta!"

* * *

><p>After two hours of dancing, laughing, talking, and generally enjoying herself, Kathryn twirled over to where the Doctor was standing, watching it all. She smiled impishly, talking to him without looking at him.<p>

"I haven't seen you out there. It's not as if you can't join. I'm sure in all your years of living you must have learned to dance. I've never danced and I still figured it out."

"I'm perfectly fine where I am," the Doctor shot back. He continued glancing about. He felt like something was about to happen, but he wasn't sure what.

Kathryn nodded sarcastically. "Yeah, I can see you're having the time of your considerable lifespan. I'll bet you're thinking about the banshee."

Before the Doctor could say anything, she plowed on. "I know you must be, because I've been trying my very hardest not to wander off in search of her. Come on, have some fun! It's not like you can't find a dancing partner. Those three women over there have had one subject all afternoon and that subject is you. Well, that and your-how did the brunette put it?-'gloriously thick hair'. Or, as the blond said, the way your eyes 'hold such secrets it makes her shiver.'"

The Doctor looked at her aghast, unsure whether to be annoyed, insulted, or indignant. "You can't say very much on that topic. Or haven't you been listening to the young men milling around? If the girls your age weren't so sure every man would drop what they were doing to save you, they'd probably have tied you to a tree by now."

"Yeah, I've been hearing that too. It's these blasted new senses. I can't tell if they're a blessing or a curse. It's certainly nice to know if some poor, brave soul is going to try and get me to go on a private walk, but some of the other things are a pain."

Seeing a way to change the subject, while asking a question, the Doctor asked, "Tell me, Kathryn. These new abilities of yours, do they include better vision then you're used to?"

"Yah. Why?"

"Because I want to put them to the test. Earlier today, the sky was completely blue. Not a single cloud, and no signs of them on the horizon, right?"

"Right."

"Then why does it look like rain?"

Kathryn looked up. She had been so absorbed in the May Day celebrations that she hadn't even thought to check. Now that she did, she saw the Doctor was right. The sky was full of clouds. Large, ugly, bruised clouds, filling the sky. They opened as though on a signal and starting pouring down water upon the revelers, who all made their own noises of distress and made a bee line for the building.

Dripping wet, Kathryn turned to the Doctor, who was in the same state. She spoke in a very calm, controlled way. "This isn't normal, is it? Someone's playing tricks with the weather."

"Yep."

"So, in essence, we landed in the wrong spot in space and time for unknown reasons, I've been insulted by chauvinists, I had to wear a dress, a creature that foretells death and has potentially lethal technology at her disposal is loose, and now someone out there, likely the same creature, is forcing it to rain very hard, consequently creating a false night, for unknown yet probably very sinister reasons."

"Yep."

Kathryn's face broke into a wide grin, which the Doctor returned. "You know what Doctor? This has got to be the best day of my life."

Before the last word was out of her mouth, a large, black horse jumped over both of them. A cry rose from the company, proclaiming its name.

"Dullahan! The headless horseman, the dullahan!"

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisism welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

"Great. I just had to say it."

Not 15 yards away, a huge black horse was pawing the air. Fire, real honest fire, was coming from its nostrils as it whinnied. On its back was a man, or rather, part of a man. From the neck down, it was a man. The head, however, was clutched tightly in its right hand by the stringy black hair. The head had large black eyes that kept darting about, and a grotesque smile that truly stretched from ear to ear, revealing pointed yellowing teeth. It was the color of molding cheese. In the dullahan's left hand he held a human spine, and used it like a whip. A horrid stench drifted from it.

Lightning flashed in the sky, so much that the area was continually lit. Thunder rolled, making the confusion worse.

The doors to the house slammed shut as the people tried to run inside. They dashed for the woods but ran into what seemed to be a wall of air. Katie faintly heard the Doctor telling her it was a force field. She wasn't really listening to him though. All her senses were focused on the dullahan and his horse. Every detail seemed to stand out as her mind raced to find a way to neutralize it.

The horse reared again as the dullahan cracked the whip. With a groaning voice the head called out, "Those that have laid eyes upon the banshee shall perish!" He swung the head around to face the crowd. The whip cracked again, and Katie thought she saw something small and dark come out of the end as he cried out, "Emma McPherson, you have seen her! Now die!"

The maid dropped silently to the ground, clutching her neck. Katie's mind somehow remembered that Elizabeth had also seen the banshee. She pulled her dagger out and threw it at the head, hoping to stop or distract it. As the Doctor's distant yell at her to stop filtered through, the knife sliced right though it, thunking heavily into the wall of the house without leaving a mark. The dullahan didn't seem to have even noticed as he moved the horse forward toward the people gathered.

"One other has viewed the banshee by the light of the full moon!"

Katie fought back the urge to swear. "Doctor, tell me that thing has a weakness," she yelled at him, forcing herself partially out of the red haze.

He stammered, hitting his forehead as he tried to concentrate. "Dullahans are creatures of myth. No gates can hold them back, they take out peoples eyes because they can't see well-"

"Doctor! I just want to know how to stop it!"

The dullahan raised his head, the spine-whip at his side, still for the first time. "Elizabeth Dixon! You shall also perish!" Holding the head aloft, the mouth opened and blood poured out on the girl. Steam rose from her, carrying with it the stench of blood and burning flesh. She screamed in agony.

Katie snapped. She ran towards the dullahan, followed closely by the Doctor, who she could only guess was trying to convince the dullahan to stop. She wasn't really sure. Snatching the first metallic thing she could find, she leapt at the head, jerking it out of the dullahan's fist, rolling clumsily away as she struck it over and over again.

The head still wore that awful smile as it continued to spew blood, but it wasn't from just its mouth any more. As she continued to hit at it, a chilling gurgle that she recognized as a scream emitted from it. The horse thundered over to where she was, the body leaning over in the saddle to snatch the head from her. Katie screeched in pain as the head bit her before being pulled from her grasp. The dullahan turned back as the black horse reared again, white-hot flames flashing along with the lightning as the thing yelled again, "I shall return for the life of Elizabeth Dixon! Beware, Jahra! I will come for you as well!"

He rode off into the woods as the rain receded rapidly, along with the red haze in Katie's eyes.

* * *

><p>The Doctor could hardly believe what he had just seen. The dullahan and the dying girl were nothing shocking. He had seen evil creatures and dead people before. The thing he could not comprehend was the girl who, not a minute earlier, had been exchanging playful banter with him. She had gone from a teenage girl having fun at a party to a mad-woman, a war machine, in scarce seconds. The worst part of it all had been while she was fighting the actual head. He could have sworn that, just for one moment, she was smiling with a twisted joy.<p>

_Is this the girl who saved an entire race a day ago_, the Doctor asked himself._ Did this child really just try to kill something she hardly knew anything about? Was it truly wise to ask her to travel with me?_

The most chilling thought of all followed immediately after. _Is it safe for everyone else to let her live?_

"Doctor."

His thoughts were interrupted by the very person he had been musing about. He looked at her, not daring to show emotion, for he hardly knew what he was feeling.

"Help Elizabeth. I'll see to Emma." He nodded silently as the rest of the guests stared at her in horror.

Kathryn's dress was in tatters, her hair undone, the roses spattered with blood. She had streaks of red gore all over her, mixing with the purple from her own cuts. She looked years younger than she really was, like a child who had just survived the destruction and slaughter of her family. Her calm, slightly dazed voice only made the image worse.

The Doctor glanced at her right hand, trying to see what she had used to attack the dullahan. She followed his gaze downward, then held it out by a short chain. "Gold pocket watch. Whose is it?"

Everyone there except for the household immediately went for their rides and promptly left. None wanted to stay, to think about what they had seen. The Doctor knew none of them would ever speak about what they had seen except as a ghost story, and they would forever fear the dullahan, a monster who could control the air and weather, and his master the banshee.

Swaying slightly, she crossed over to Emma's cold body. The Doctor tore his gaze away from her and turned to Elizabeth.

The 13 year-old was whimpering, large sections of her flesh burned off. Her mother was franticly trying to wipe off the remaining blood of the dullahan, as most of it had been washed away by the rain, but it only served to injure her further.

"Here, let me see." Mrs. Dixon looked at him with a tearstained face.

"Please Doctor. Help her."

"Don't let him touch her! You saw what his daughter just did! Who knows what this man is capable of?"

"Mister Dixon!"

The remaining company, which consisted of the Doctor, Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, their son John, and the servants all turned to look at Kathryn again. Her green eyes blazed with anger.

_She changes faces so swiftly. From laughter to murder to dazed disbelief to fury. What reason would the Rahki have had to create such a thing?_

"If you want your daughter to live, let the Doctor see to her. He is the only one who can save her, and the rest of you! If you want to be able to sleep without fear of that creature, help him! Do whatever he tells you. And if you try to stop him in any way, Mister Dixon, nothing on this earth except that man will be able to stop me."

Mr. Dixon stared at her, infuriated. "You, a woman, dare to speak to me like that? Doctor, I insist you restrain your daughter."

The Doctor, who had returned to trying to help Elizabeth with some sort of pink goo and bandages he had pulled from his pocket barely glanced at him. Kathryn laughed a short, harsh laugh.

"Your daughter is dying, your maid dead, and you're worried about the superiority of men. I already don't like you Mister Dixon." Kathryn said his name with a sour tone, as though she was biting out the syllables. "Don't make me hate you." Her expression returned to one of dazed calm, and she knelt to examine Emma's corpse.

* * *

><p>The scene kept playing in her mind. She could feel the rain and the soft flesh of the dullahan head, could smell the blood and the fear. Mostly she could see the terrified look in the crowd's eyes. They were more scared of her than they were of it. She shut her eyes, trying to forget it, but the picture only became clearer. People hadn't looked at her like that for years. It hurt just as much now as it did then. <em>Except for That Night, this is the worst moment of my life.<em>

Katie forced herself back to the here and now. She had to help the Doctor stop that thing. A good place to start was Emma.

She kept her mouth closed as she searched the body, but her mind was buzzing with thoughts. _Let me see, she's a bluish purple color. Poison? It would have to be pretty strong stuff to kill her instantly. Unless it wasn't instant. Perhaps she was only paralyzed, and then died because she couldn't breath. What a horrid way to go. Hmmm, it would have to have hit a major artery to work so swiftly. She clutched at her neck, and that small black thing went zooming at her right before that. What was it?_

Turning Emma's head to the side and moving her hand, she saw a miniscule black dot, no bigger than a period at 28-point font in Times New Roman. "Doctor, do you happen to have a pair of tweezers?"

A set landed next to her. "Thanks."

Peering closely at the thing, she gently extracted it. For such a small dot, it was really rather long. The thing that had delivered the poison was no more than half an inch long, and the same width all the way down. Finding a mostly clean part of her dress, she wrapped it up to show the Doctor once he was done. Glancing at him, she noticed it wouldn't be long. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation she knew would follow.

A pair of mud-spattered boots entered her line of vision. She looked questioningly up at Liam, the shepherd who had first found her. He was holding her dagger out to her, hilt first. "Ye lost this," he commented in his thick accent.

Katie blinked, stunned that someone there would actually approach her. She took it from him gingerly. "Thanks," she said, sliding it into its sheath

"I should be the one tae thank ye miss. We a' should."

"I didn't really do anything. Does she have any family we need to alert?"

"Nae. She 'twas a' alone. Ye did do something miss. Ye acted."

She swallowed heavily. _I'm tired of being the one to act._ Standing up, she gave Liam a watery smile. "I tend to do that. Has anything like this happened recently?"

Liam shook his head. "Nae."

"What about, say, 25 years ago? Or even father back?"

"Nothing that I ken aboot."

"Legends? Stories?"

Liam thought a little longer about that one. "Aye. We have monie stories aboot the banshee and the dullahan. Not monie folk tell the tales oniemair. They wull now, I can promise ye that!"

Something clicked in Katie's mind, but she wasn't sure what yet. "So no one has actually been worried about these things lately."

"Nae. We a' thocht they were only stories. Especially the part aboot goud being the only thing the dullahan fears. Imagine it! A thing like that, fash aboot such a rare thing as goud!"

Katie raised her eyebrows. "You mean that gold is the only thing that can harm it?"

"Aye miss. That's what the auld stories say."

She clicked her teeth together and peered off into the distance. "I wonder…" She looked at Liam. "Thanks for the help." Turning a bit to the side, she wandered off in the direction of the hill that would lead her to the clearing the Doctor had parked the TARDIS. A few minutes later, the Doctor finished cleaning Elizabeth's wounds and followed.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

He found her sitting in front of the TARDIS door, her knees against her chest, her eyes staring at nothing as she rocked back and forth. Laying on the grass in front of her was her knife, the pocket watch, and a small black line on a piece of cloth. She was still a mess, but she had improved some as her cuts and bruises healed. The only injury left was the bite mark on her hand.

She didn't look at him as he knelt silently next to her. She didn't look at him when he carefully cleaned and dressed the wound. She didn't look at him as he explained why the bite hadn't healed.

"The blood is a mixture of acid, a substance called Byxzine, and a few other things. The Byxzine attaches to whatever it is applied to and uses the nutrients to live. In this case, it would help the acid to eat you from the inside out, once it got inside your veins. Completely treatable, if you have the right cure."

After a silence, Kathryn dully asked, "How did you know it was Byxzine?"

"Dim purple-green smell. Really the only way to describe it."

"This isn't the first time."

The Doctor looked at Kathryn, for once staying silent.

"This isn't the first time I've killed something, or tried to. I almost shot you. I would have to, and probably wouldn't have regretted it at the time. I shot three Grixzen and stabbed a fourth that day. That's where I got the dagger. I killed him with his own weapon. Almost 3 years ago I- well, that time doesn't matter so much. I've seen people die. I've killed before. I know how horrible it is." She finally looked at the Doctor, her eyes clear and questioning. "So why did I, for one terrifying, dark, glorious second, why did I enjoy the screams coming out of that head?"

"I don't know Kathryn. I can't answer that."

"Have you ever enjoyed a person's death?"

"Never afterwards."

"But sometimes while it's happening."

"Yes."

Kathryn looked away. The Doctor again wondered how someone so young could have so many years in her eyes. He could almost see the weight on her back. _Not that I don't know about weights. But she shouldn't have one yet. Maybe I should try to find out her original's name, and check on her history._

"Why did I do it?"

He didn't know if she was asking why she had killed people or why she had enjoyed trying to kill the dullahan. Or if she was asking herself about the event she hadn't explained. Whatever it was, he didn't have an answer.

"They were terrified," she said after another pause.

"Wouldn't you be? Something out of their nightmares comes pounding into view, yeah. A bit of terror is allowed," the Doctor said, misunderstanding her meaning.

She continued speaking in that calm, hollow voice. "They were terrified of me. They looked at me like I was a monster." She tilted her head up to the sky, as though searching for an answer there. "Perhaps I am."

Kathryn abruptly stood, brushing off her hands, seeming to brush off her dark thoughts as well. "Anyway, no time to sit around. You've obviously helped Elizabeth all you can, so that's done. Would you mind opening the door so I can have a shower and change my clothes? It'll be easier to assist you if I'm not looking like a ghoul myself. Take a look at the thin black thing. I think the dullahan used it to kill Emma."

* * *

><p>"Oh, that's much better. Being clean is a good thing. At least now you see what I mean about me wearing dresses. Bad luck."<p>

Katie had taken only 20 minutes to shower, get into another button down shirt with rolled up sleeves, blue jeans, boots, and put her hair up in a bun. She had reclaimed her dagger before hand and was wearing it. The gold pocket watch was tucked inside the pouch on her belt.

Her hair was still damp and all traces of her previous mental and physical cuts were gone as she joined the Doctor in the TARDIS control room where he was holding the thin black dart under a huge magnifying glass. It took her a few moments before she saw he was wearing glasses. She smirked.

"Guess even Time Lords need help in the visual department."

"I'm 903! Most species would be dead by now."

"Ah, but you are obviously still young for your race, and are most certainly not dead. I can understand the whole "I'm a rickety 903 year old man" thing, but you seemed a little too vain to put on glasses. Anything interesting about that nearly invisible black line?"

"Except that it's hollow, black, and has no other markings, it's actually rather dull."

"No clue as to the owner's real name then."

The Doctor made a sound that could be taken as a yes or no. "Any other marks on the body?"

"None. She was a peculiar shade of purplish blue though. I was thinking poison, but it would have to be awfully strong to work so fast, even if it was a paralyzing one."

"Depends on what you're using. In this case, I think they might have used something synthetic."

"Which doesn't tell us much more except the two ghouls didn't sit and boil the twigs themselves. Not shocked on that."

Setting down the dart, the Doctor looked over at Katie. "They might have. We already know they use brthintemthumb particles, transporters, and then both atmospheric and static manipulators. Who's to say they didn't create the poison?"

Katie leaned against the control panel. "I'm assuming the two mentioned manipulators were the things used to make it rain and generate the force-field."

"Exactly. Create the static in the lightning, use it to stop the natives from running off…"

"And give atmosphere to the whole scene. You know, whatever the dullahan really was either has a good sense of smell or taste, to know that I wasn't…" Katie's voice trailed off as it became evident the Doctor wasn't really listening. "Mosquito in your ear?"

"Hmm? No, I was thinking about what you said."

"Really. What spark of light has shown the hidden things now?"

"What's easier to spread around then dirt?"

Without missing a beat, she answered, "Butter."

Katie could literally see the energy go flooding through the Doctor as he started his explanation. It was an interesting sight, as all the colors jumbled together. "No, outside. Nothing. You can put it anywhere and no one will notice. When you smell as horrid as our headless friend did, you have to find a way to hide yourself. So, you need something to absorb the smell. The best way to do that is to-"

"Cover your trail with dirt that has no smell. I've got to admit I wouldn't have put those two things together."

"Oh, I'm just that good."

"Humility is always an admirable trait to have," she commented with a half-smile. It faded quickly as it was replaced by a concealed worry. "Is Elizabeth going to be alright? She was injured horribly."

"She should be fine."

"Doctor, be honest. Is she going to live?"

"Yeah," he answered, his voice rising just a bit. "Of course she is. Might have some scarring, but she'll be able to move and see like she should."

Katie sighed gratefully. "Good. I wouldn't want my delayed actions to knock someone else off. If this is happening now, why haven't I found it in any history books? Or even in collections of legends. Shouldn't there be a record?"

"Time is constantly in flux. What happened yesterday can be changed, and in effect you could change the outcome of something significant. Which brings me to another point, that being how you addressed Mr. Dixon."

"Don't go telling me I should have been polite!"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it's not that. I just have to wonder if you've spoken to Elizabeth on the topic of women's rights."

Katie grew a bit flustered. "I might have." Seeing the Doctor's expression, she quickly defended herself. "What? It isn't like this is the 1500's. I think the women's movement started around this time."

"It's not supposed to get going until the next century."

"What's wrong with giving it a head start," Katie protested.

"Just trust me on this. You could change history, and it might not be for the better."

The Doctor and Katie locked eyes. Both of them had strong wills, and neither was prepared to back down easily. Finally though, Katie threw up her hands. "Okay. You're the expert on timelines and such. It's only my second go."

"Thank you."

"Is there anyway at all to find them, or do we just wander around?"

"You change subjects rather quickly."

"My train of thought is able to leap from track to track with practiced ease. How do we find them?'

"Well, I've got a gadget," the Doctor said, spinning around and darting over to a trunk. He began pulling things out and looking at them, then tossing them aside as he searched for something.

"It's a tracking system (hello, haven't seen that picture in a while) of a sorts. It was designed (my three-headed rubber duck!) by Julius Caesar the XXVII of the 2nd Roman Empire in 100012 (so that's where that skull went) to track enemies using their own weapons. (Oh. I wish that had stayed down there. I don't have fond memories of Spain in 1494) Basically, what it does is pull everything and anything from whatever you may put into it and find the nearest thing that would have more. Ah ha!"

The Doctor sprang up, holding what reminded Katie of an I-pod, but it was about 8 inches long, 4 wide and shaped like an octagon. "So if I put this dart in this little slot here, it should show me the quickest route to our headless man and his screaming girlfriend."

Katie gave him another half-smile. "Then are we going to go try and track down a dullahan and a banshee, or are we going to stand and jaw all day?"

"Right! Allon-sy!"

The Doctor dashed towards the door, grabbing his coat along the way. Katie shook her head, smiling, and followed. She bumped into him as she exited.

"Oi! No need to stand right in front of…oh. Well, that's unexpected."

Katie and the Doctor stood side by side, wondering what to do now that the two creature they were looking for were standing 10 feet away.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisism welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

"I think your gizmo worked," Katie whispered, leaning towards the Doctor. He didn't respond to her, instead addressing the two creatures standing in front of them.

"Who are you?"

"Real original Doctor. Real original."

He gave her a look that actually managed to silence her for a moment. Instead of returning it, she turned her attention to the people they were after in the first place.

The dullahan looked the same as he had on the horse, but he was hunched over, like a stereotypical quarterback. Well, a stereotypical quarterback that carried his head under his left arm and had a spine-whip hanging from his belt. In his right hand he held a huge, black umbrella that provided enough shade for he and the banshee to stand under.

The banshee looked the way she had been described, but what Emma and Elizabeth had failed to mention was that she was very attractive. Katie had always been as straight as an arrow, and nothing would change that, but she recognized beauty when she saw it. The banshee's figure, white hair and pale skin, coupled with her dark eyes and long lashes, made her a stark contrast to the ugly stench of the dullahan.

Unable to keep quiet any longer, Katie couldn't help but comment on that very thing. "Buddy, you need to take a bath or roll around in a patch of mint or something. I can smell your decomposing brains from here."

The dullahan didn't move, but the banshee gave her a slight smile. "It's usually worse deary. That's what I use the dirt for. I'm surprised-how did she call you?-I'm surprised, Doctor, that you were able to follow me. That alone makes it obvious you are out of your time. I trust you are only traveling for pleasure."

Nonchalantly slipping his hands into his trouser pockets, and in the act putting away the tracker, the Doctor answered, "Yeah, just sight-seeing. However, you two seem to be in town for business."

"You might say that. We set up residence not far from town. Lovely rural place, quiet. So many people."

"People are easier to meet when you don't kill them."

The banshee wasn't fazed by the accusation. "I'm afraid meeting the humans on peaceful terms would put us in rather a tight spot."

Katie looked between the Doctor and the banshee, confused. She didn't understand how the Doctor could simply stand there, chatting as though he were at afternoon tea when the people who had murdered one woman and attempted to kill Elizabeth were so close. She decided to step in.

"Hate to break up this lovely conversation, but I've still got questions, the first one being why you killed Emma."

"She saw me. As such, I was able to catch a relatively clear scent of her blood. The same thing goes for the other child. From that I was able to give my husband a very clear description of who to go after."

"You two are married?" Katie asked, pointing between them.

The banshee furrowed her brow. "Of course. You are a Jahra Rahki, you should have a basic concept of races."

Katie spit on the ground. "The Rahki are-well, what I really think of them shouldn't be put into words. I don't think like them. I don't want to either."

"Okay, getting a little off track here," the Doctor cut in. "Back to the topic at hand. Who are you? What's your race?"

"We are the Naime."

Katie crossed her arms. "We gathered that you have a name. What is it?"

"We are the Naime."

"What name?"

The Doctor glanced at her sideways. "No, Kathryn, the Naime."

"Yes, I understand that they have one. What name?"

"That Naime."

"What is that name?"

"That Naime is a Naime."

"What name!"

"Naime!"

"I asked you that question!"

"And I told you! Naime!"

"Kathryn Moore! You already knew that. I'm asking what their name is!"

"Naime!"

"Look, Doctor, I just want to know their name! If I asked for an autograph, what would the name be?"

"I just told you! Naime!"

The dullahan leaned over towards the banshee and grunted out, in quite a different voice then the one he had used earlier, "What are they talking about?"

"I don't know," the banshee answered.

Katie spun towards her, pointed, blurted out, "Third base!," then spun back to the Doctor. "What name?"

"Those Naime!"

"Doctor please, just tell me already!"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Not unless I have to write this down! What is their name?"

"Naime! N-a-i-m-e, Naime!"

Katie paused while the spelling sank in, then spread her hands in a gesture of incredulousness. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

The Doctor's eye twitched. You could almost see him choking on his words. "I…you…gah! You have got to be one of the most exasperating people I have ever met!"

She smiled and tilted her head, aware that she was irritating him. "I know. It's who I am."

"Since you've obviously established who we are, might we approach the subject we came to you about?"

Katie and the Doctor turned back to the Naime. The Doctor smiled. "Right. Sorry. What would that subject be?"

"The Jahra you have with you is obviously rouge. We have come to take her from you and return her, since you have not."

Katie put her hands up and stepped back. "Nuh-uh. I'm not going anyplace with you two. Why would it matter who took me back anyway?"

The banshee smiled condescendingly. "Upon occasion, there is a reward for returning strays like you. To put it simply, we need the money."

"What is it with species and money? I'm not really understanding this."

"I'll explain later, Doctor. Why would you need money?"

"Our research grant has run out, but I still require scent neutralizer."

"So someone was paying you to create a new air-freshener?"

The banshee laughed. "Of course little girl. You don't think I would have gone through all that trouble on my own. All male Naimes look and smell like my husband here, only far worse. I grew up with it."

"A race where females are both the brains and the beauties. If I didn't resent you so much I might actually like you."

"Kathryn, sarcasm doesn't help diplomacy," the Doctor admonished her.

She shrugged. "It's always worked for me."

The Doctor turned back to the Naime. "Who was it that paid you?"

"The same people I'm taking your friend to. I suggest you leave, Doctor, or we'll let the Rahki know you've been holding onto their property." The banshee nodded to the dullahan and put her hood up. The dullahan dropped the umbrella and picked up his spine-whip.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing Katie's hand. They took off into the woods as the whip cracked behind them.

* * *

><p>"You see? Diplomacy doesn't always work!"<p>

"Would you stop being American for once?"

"No."

Kathryn and the Doctor had found a temporary spot to rest. Neither of them really needed it, what with the Doctor having two hearts and Kathryn three. Fortunately, the dullahan was much slower than they were, giving them a bit of extra time.

"So class, what did we learn from our guest speaker?"

The Doctor stared at Kathryn, struggling to believe her nonchalance. "Do you think of those remarks ahead of time?"

"Nope, natural talent. Did I just put you on a wanted list for harboring a fugitive?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm on so many species kill list I'm losing track."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow. "I'd go into that topic, but we don't have the time. The Naime were standing in the shade, under an umbrella. Does that mean they're allergic to sunlight or something?"

"Could be light in general."

"So the only weapons we seem to have are gold and sunlight."

The Doctor's skin crawled with something akin to worry. "We need to talk about that."

"We're on the run from two dangerous aliens and you want to have a personal talk?"

He almost smiled at her remark. It sounded so much like his reply to Martha Jones a year before when she had asked him if he had a traveling companion. However, this topic was far too serious to laugh about.

"Yes. I don't care who you may be, but if you're going to travel with me, you need to not go straight for the violent approach."

"Sorry Doc. America hasn't exactly been the model of peace in my 15 short years."

"Never call me Doc. It's the Doctor or nothing."

"Sorry. Didn't realize. Look, in all seriousness, I would love to use gentler methods. Unfortunately, I've had limited opportunities to practice. Violence is my default. Here." She reached into her pouch and pulled out the pocket watch and pressed it into his hand. "Take this, and stick it in one of your pockets. I can't use it if I don't have it."

The Doctor was surprised at how easily she relinquished the one sure way she had to fight the dullahan, but still took the watch. He slipped it inside his deepest pocket.

"Now that that oh-so-touching scene is over, how are we supposed to stop them? We can't just let them go back to finish off Elizabeth."

"Perhaps we can."

Kathryn's eyes widened. "Are you nuts?"

The Doctor gave a slight smile. "As near as I can figure it, we have about 3 hours until dark, when they can move about freely. That's 3 hours to set things up."

"Set things up for what?"

"An intense allergic reaction."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

"Remember, don't shoot immediately. Let me try to reason with them. We have to give them a chance."

"Right-o. What's the safe word?"

The Doctor looked blankly at Katie. "Safe word?"

"You know, a word that you try to fit into ordinary conversation that signals to whoever's listening in that it's time to pull you out, or, as in this case, shoot. Like "woozle" or "butterfly" or "fluffy pink bunnies" or something equally non-violent."

"Just…be ready. Elizabeth, you're certain your okay with this?"

Katie and the Doctor were in Elizabeth's room on the second floor, going over what they hoped would happen once it was fully dark. The only things they could be sure of were the dullahan showing again on his horse and that the banshee wouldn't be far off. After that, it was touch and go.

The thirteen year old nodded. She was still covered in bandages, but was determined to go through with the plan. "Yes. I want to get this over with, instead of living in fear. What did you two say to my father to get him to agree to this?"

The Doctor and Katie exchanged a look. "We…talked with him about it," Katie answered her. What she didn't say was that she had had to mouth off to Mr. Dixon, and had stunned him with her honest knowledge, most of it university grade. She had finally shut him up by giving him a full description of how to construct an argument, of which she then displayed full comprehension of with a rapid speech on why Elizabeth should be allowed to be used as bait.

And that had only been part of the 3 hours Katie and the Doctor had had. After their talk, they had returned to the TARDIS, which the Doctor had then piloted through space (and only space) to the center of town. He had taken two gold hair pins from a hat shop, then gone to the glass blowers. He had snuck in the back and started to wave his screwdriver over the blowing tubes, inspecting them. Katie had pinched his psychic paper when she heard the shopkeeper coming back.

"What exactly did you tell him to make him so…cordial?"

Katie gave the Doctor a mischievous smile. "I told him I was working for the king and acting as your escort."

"How did you get that to work?"

"I said that being a women only made me even farther below suspicion, and that you were an insane illegitimate cousin of the king. What I want to know is how you got a fully operational saw from a lumber mill to fit through your front door."

"Who said it had to come in through the front door? Worked, didn't it?"

"Well, yes, it may have cut the glass blowing pipe in half, but why do you keep one in the TARDIS?"

"It comes in handy. It's almost completely dark. We have to go now, Elizabeth. Kathryn, stay ready, but please don't shoot on sight."

"Understood."

As Katie watched them walk out of the room, then reappear on the lawn a few minutes later, a single, unanswerable question darted through her mind.

"_Why is it that every child dreams of being a sniper or spy, then when the time comes to actually be one, all you can think about is running?"_

* * *

><p>"I don't want you injured more than you are. You stay behind me."<p>

"Don't worry Doctor. I know my place."

The Doctor gave Elizabeth a sidelong look. He had finally been able to recall who she was, and knew that the young girl had to live through tonight. He didn't envy her future, but she was important.

"You'll get though this."

"I know. I trust her."

_Perhaps I do as well._

The Doctor's head snapped around as he heard hoof beats approaching.

* * *

><p>"Stupid Naime, why don't you just show already?" Katie asked the empty room.<p>

"All you have to do is turn around deary."

Katie spun to face the banshee. She slipped the two gold pins in her pocket and gripped the iron pipe in her hands.

"Are you honestly going to attempt to fight me?"

"Oh, I don't plan to attempt. I'm going to," Katie spat out as she swung the pipe.

* * *

><p>"I am the dullahan, servant of the banshee! I have returned for the life of Elizabeth Dixon!"<p>

"Yes yes, we know that bit."

The ghastly smile on the dullahan's severed head grew even wider as he held it high in the light of the fire coming from the horse's nostrils. "Doctor! Have you come to watch the earth-child burn? Or have you decided to return your friend?"

"I've come to tell you to leave."

"Why would we leave this place?" The head inhaled. "Smell the fear, Doctor! Such a feast!"

"That's why you've been killing innocent people? To feed?"

"How else do you inspire terror?"

"Well, you could always tell scary stories," the Doctor remarked, tugging on an earlobe.

"We have lived here for 5 centuries. You can not force us to vacate!" The spine-whip cracked. "Elizabeth Dixon, your family watches from the windows. They will look on as you are destroyed!"

The Doctor's eyes flashed with anger.

* * *

><p>"Stand still you nasty little cretin!"<p>

"Why, so you can sell me back? As if!"

The banshee hissed as Katie hit her again, this time in the leg. "I may not have the patience to hold onto you that long, bitch!"

"Language! Why would they pay for me anyway? Why don't they come and get me themselves? Ah!"

The banshee smiled evilly at the 3 gashes on Katie's neck, then frowned as they started healing.

"What are you?" She gasped in pain as Katie took advantage of her distraction to land a solid blow on the banshee's ribs. Her vision was starting to haze red again, but she shook it off.

"Why did the Rahki give you the research money? What did they want a smell neutralizer for?"

The banshee rolled out of the way of another swing, holding her side as she pulled a small knife from her belt. "You can ask them once I take you back."

Katie screamed as the knife flew through the air, landing solidly in her leg.

* * *

><p>"I'll tell you one last time, leave!"<p>

The dullahan laughed cruelly. "You believe the Jahra will show? She is nothing but a lab rat, built to trick you. Get that into your head, human!"

"I'm no human. I come from a planet long since gone, a time locked for eternity. You will leave."

"Fancy words for a defenseless man."

The Doctor pulled out a long UV light. The dullahan's horse shied away from it. "Not so defenseless. Elizabeth, get back inside the house." She nodded and moved to the doorway as quickly as she could.

"NO! I will not be denied my prey!"

"Try to take her then!" the Doctor shouted, jumping towards the dullahan. The horse whinnied and threw its rider, rushing off into the woods. The dullahan rolled expertly, picked himself up, and moved to intercept Elizabeth. The Doctor swung the light, distracting him momentarily.

"Kathryn, now would be a good time!"

* * *

><p>Up in the second story room, the banshee spun towards the door. "She is coming. Fine. I will kill her myself." She glanced back towards Katie. "You can wait."<p>

Katie gritted her teeth. She had heard the Doctor, and knew he needed help. Her leg felt like it was on fire as it healed around the knife. Knowing she could do nothing with it in, she gripped the hilt and pulled it out in one swift jerk. The banshee turned in time to see the dull yellow glint of the gold blade that struck her solidly in the forehead. She burst into a cloud of gray dust.

Katie crawled as quickly as she could to the window, fumbling for the gold pins.

* * *

><p>On the front lawn, the dullahan froze, then gave a cry that sounded like a wounded animal. "She's dead! You have killed her!"<p>

"What?"

"That disgusting child you brought with you has killed my wife! I will avenge her by causing the brat that same pain!" Ignoring the light, the dullahan leapt at the Doctor's throat.

* * *

><p>Katie dropped both pins into one end of the pipe. They landed on the piece of thin silk at the other end. Raising the glass blower to her lips, she sighted on the dullahan, took a deep breath, and blew hard.<p>

* * *

><p>The Doctor saw both pins strike the dullahan in the side. The Naime collapsed, dropping his head. The Doctor grabbed it and knelt by the body.<p>

"I can help you. I know how to save you, but you have to leave this place."

One of the dullahan's hands shot to the Doctor's throat, the grip weakening as each second ticked by. "Never. I will never surrender to you, Doctor. My one consolation is that that thing you travel with can only bring you pain. A monster like that will turn on you some day. It's only a matter of time."

The hand dropped by the dullahan's side, crumbling into dust.

The Doctor looked up at the window. The full moon showed Kathryn's face clearly. She swallowed heavily, then closed her eyes, as though in pain. She turned and disappeared from view.

_Why? Why did she do it? She knew, she understood what I was trying to do. Was the Naime right? Is she a monster?_

He shook his head. "No," he declared to the pile of dust. "I refuse to believe it. She can learn. She just needs a chance."

* * *

><p>In the second story bedroom, Katie had locked the door, and was now curled on the floor, her mind tormented by the dullahan's words.<p>

_What if I am? What if I will? Why do I do things like this? Why? What if I do turn on the Doctor? _

_No. No. No! I will not! I don't care if I just met him. I don't care what I am. I will never, ever, do anything to harm that man. Never._

_NEVER!_

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

"They eat fear? How does that work?"

"Well, technically, they feed off cortisol, one of the hormones humans produce when they are afraid. You're such a fragile, superstitious race that it was easy to simply come in and harvest all they could."

"Hmm. I guess that makes sense. You know, I don't remember the hill up to the TARDIS being so large."

"You took the quick way down the first time, you were in a daze the last time you went up it, and now you're carrying a large mysterious package."

"I was hinting at the fact you could have parked closer to the house this time. Instead, you put us in the same spot."

"It's less likely to cause a stir."

"I think we already did that."

Kathryn and the Doctor were walking back to the TARDIS. It was the morning after their fight with the Naime. They had been hustled out the door rather quickly, but not before Elizabeth had given Kathryn a flat, paper-wrapped package. The Doctor was horribly curious as to what it was, but Kathryn didn't seem to notice.

_Either that, or she knows and is doing this on purpose._

"You can stop trying to scan it from under your coat. I have a pretty good idea as to what it is, and I don't want to open it until I can pretend I have no way to return it."

_She's sharp. Confusing, and subject to severe mood swings, but sharp._

"Just who was she, Doctor?"

"Elizabeth?"

"No, their horse. Of course I mean Elizabeth!"

"She's going to grow up, get married to a man who will squander most of their money on alcohol, and her oldest daughter will lie in front of her door to keep her from being beaten."

Kathryn stopped, grabbing the Doctor's coat sleeve. "That's not funny."

"I wasn't trying to be funny. It's the truth."

Kathryn's face turned red with anger. "If that's her future, why did we save her?"

"Because her oldest daughter is going to grow up to become Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the most influential writers of the women's movement."

The Doctor looked at Kathryn as her color receded. She took a deep breath as he kept talking. "It's your fault really. Not Elizabeth's future, but her daughter's actions. Think about it: if you grew up as the grand-daughter to Mr. Dixon down there, and the daughter of an abusive father, you probably wouldn't go around writing about women's rights."

"You mean to say I planted the idea in Elizabeth's head, and she in turn told her daughter about it?"

"Yep."

Kathryn seemed unhappy with the answer, but accepted it and continued walking. She smiled when she saw the TARDIS.

"There she is! I meant to ask you, why is she shaped like a blue box?"

"It's a disguise!" the Doctor protested, sounding overly-defensive, even to his own ears.

"No need to be sensitive, I was just asking."

Not realizing he looked a little like a sulking child, the Doctor pulled out the TARDIS key and went in. Just as Katie stepped up to it, it slammed shut behind him, locking her out.

"Doctor, this is not funny! If you try to leave me here…"

She heard the door rattle as the Doctor tried opening it. "It won't budge!"

"What, is the ship having fits now? Is she ticked we left her out of the adventure?"

"No, but you're on the right track."

Katie wasn't sure whether to roll her eyes or be envious when the Doctor started talking to the TARDIS.

"There now girl, what is it?…What's wrong with her?…We've met plenty of people like that….Oh. Oh I see. Well now, you could have simply told me. I can easily fix it….No, we are not going to leave her here. Who knows what messes she might make?…Yes, I understand she makes you uneasy, but you'll just have to live with it until you can give me a definite reason."

The door opened and the Doctor's head popped out. "You gonna stand there all day?"

"What was that about?" Katie asked as she walked in.

"You've been disrupting her power source."

"How is that supposed to work?"

"Well, the TARDIS draws her power from the reality of the whole universe, including different forms of energy."

Katie clicked her teeth. "So, she's angry with me because I was interrupting her fuel lines?"

"Well, not angry exactly, just….irritated. She didn't think it would be such a problem until you started absorbing her reserves. That's why she landed here instead of 800 A.D. Ireland. This time and place was closer to where we were last."

"Ah. I see. Makes sense anyway." Katie shrugged her shoulders and walked past the Doctor. "I'll just head to my room, let you make whatever fixes you need to."

"Hold on. What's in that package of yours?"

Katie smiled mysteriously. "I'll let you know when you finish and pick a nebula to fly into. Like I said, I want to pretend I can't return it."

* * *

><p><em>Knock knock knock.<em>

"Enter at your own risk."

"Haven't heard that one before," the Doctor said as he opened the to Kathryn's room.

_Whap_

"What the…? A pillow?"

The Doctor examined the mechanism Kathryn had set up. A trip wire on the ground ran up the doorframe to a pin. The pin was now swinging free, but he saw where it had been holding an arm restraining a pillow on spring.

"Simple defense. Not harmful, but definitely distracting," Kathryn said, answering his unspoken question. She took another bite of the apple she was holding and turned the page of an open book lying in front of her on the bed.

The Doctor looked around the room. It was always interesting to see how each of his companions had their room decorated. The TARDIS would help them, on occasion, but she hadn't helped anyone since…, well the TARDIS hadn't taken much part in anything since then. However, this time, perhaps as an apology for locking her out, the TARDIS had changed a few of the details for Kathryn.

The room was bigger than it had been when Kathryn had chosen it, making it almost the size of a four-room apartment. The banana tree had been removed, but only to be replaced by 3 small trees: apple, walnut, and pear. Covering one wall was an enormous bookshelf, packed full of books, in every category. A brick fireplace crackled on the opposite wall. Small shelves around the room held scentless candles, of all sizes, providing, besides the fireplace, the only source of light. Next to her California King sized water bed was a table that had a small brass incense pot, currently burning frankincense, her dagger, a simple clay pitcher, and a tall glass of a turquoise liquid the Doctor recognized as coming from the planet Gefiu. Her closet and dresser stood on either side of a full length mirror, with a second mirror hanging behind the dresser. The dresser had little on it, save two pictures of people the Doctor didn't recognize.

"If you're looking for the mystery package, it's hanging on the wall behind you," Kathryn said, eyes still on the book.

Turning, the Doctor almost had to sit down when he saw the picture. It wasn't painted, as there would have been no time for it to set, but it was beautifully drawn, having the effect of being a frozen moment in time. Dry pigments had been rubbed in to provide color.

It was a drawing of Kathryn and himself standing in the rain, just after the storm had broken. They were both soaked, but smiling. In the distant background, he saw a streak of red-orange that could only be from the dullahan's horse.

What truly stunned him was the way Kathryn's personality, as well as his own, were portrayed. You could tell that both knew something horrible was about to happen, that lives might even be in danger, yet for whatever reason, that only made things better for them. The Doctor's years were captured in his stance, but the way he also seemed to be very, very young was also depicted. Kathryn's own fiery, stubborn personality shone from her face, though it was obvious that aspect of her was tempered by a knowledge-a wisdom, almost-born from experience.

"Now you see what I mean by wanting to pretend I can't return it."

Startled out of his thoughts, he turned to see Kathryn still eating the apple. She turned another page.

"What are you reading?"

He smiled when she held it up for him to see the title: "_Time Lords: Fantasy or Fact?_"

"So far, the author is making a rather good argument that you're either a mass hallucination, or an ancient bed-time story dreamt up by a long-dead species looking for immortality. I'm not quite sure where this leaves me."

"I take it you're enjoying it, then."

"Immensely. One thing I have to say though, is that I absolutely love the name he uses for your "non-existent" home planet; Gallifrey. It's a good name. Flows off the tongue rather well. Gallifrey."

"That's the only thing he got right."

Kathryn finally looked up from the book. "Really? Must be some place."

He nodded, a lump starting to form in his throat. "Yeah."

The Doctor felt Kathryn's searching gaze studying him. This was an un-intentional, yet potent, test. She had given him her word that she wouldn't question his past, that she would stay out of it. Yet, most of the people he traveled with always asked. They would prod, even when it was obvious he would rather leave the topic alone. Especially when it was about his planet.

_A planet always seems like fair game, doesn't it? It's only a planet. It's not like it's about family or friends. It's just a place to others._

Kathryn blinked, washing away the prodding stare. "So, you think we could go to a planet tomorrow?"

He felt his broad grin grow again on his face, mostly from relief. "Yeah, course. And I have just the place."

She smiled back at him, though it still wasn't quite full. "Where?"

"Pandora 9. Wonderful place, if you watch where you step."

"Why would I need to do that?"

"Let me see, 21st century Earth…did you ever see the movie "_Jurassic Park_?"

"Yah…"

"Good, because Pandora 9 is nothing like it."

He received one of her lidded stares. "Come on Doctor, you have to give me more than that."

"What, and ruin the surprise?"

She growled. "Now I'll never get to sleep."

"Yes, you will, because we aren't going until you've slept."

"You sound like my mo-err, the woman I stayed with. I have a stronger body now, of course I can make it."

"No. You've gone two days without rest, and you can't keep running on energy." He backed out towards the door. "Now sleep."

Kathryn gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. Give me ten minutes to get ready, then I'll turn in. Night Doctor. Or does that saying still apply in a time ship?"

"It does. Sleep well." He closed the door softly behind him.

* * *

><p>Katie sat in front of her dresser, staring at her reflection. Bedtime preparations had kept her busy, but only for a little while. Now, wide awake, with nothing to distract her, she was left with only her thoughts.<p>

Right now, they were trained on what she looked like. Katie was not a vain person; she hardly ever thought-or even cared-about her appearance. This was the first time since her return to Jahra form that she had really looked at herself.

Her hair was dark red, contrasting with the gold-brown she was used to. Her skin was even paler, her face thinner, and her figure more pronounced, making her seem fragile. She gave a wry smile as she studied her eyes.

_Green. Well, I did always want green eyes. Still extremely dark for my face though._

Katie's gaze was drawn to her pictures. One of her friends and herself, the other of her family.

_What would they think of me now? Would they all be happy for me, or throw stones because I was deceiving them for so long? I hate lies. I always avoid lying. And now I find out I've been one my whole life._

Her earlier words to the Doctor echoed in her ears, almost taunting her. _"I'm not sure where this leaves me."_

She laughed hollowly. "Two days ago, I was almost out of high school. I was going to spend 3 years learning languages, gaining acting skills, finding more ways to fight, writing papers for scholarship applications, reading all the books I wanted to before applying to my choice of college… Now, I'm a 3 hearted, purple-blooded, energy-sucking, fighting thing, dashing about time and space with some alien nut I know nothing about.

"Is this were you thought I would be, Mom? Did you picture me here, Dad? What about you, Geoffrey, my dear older brother?"

Katie felt the prick of tears as her throat started to close. "You always said I had a great imagination. Imagine me without you three. Imagine your dear daughter and sister running off to places unknown with a strange man. Sure, I'd always pictured getting married and traveling. But I thought it would be after you met the guy and gave your okay, Daddy. I thought I would still be on planet Earth. I thought I would be able to call you to say how I was doing. I thought you would miss me!"

Angry tears squeezed out of her eyes. "But no. Instead I'm just a copy. The real one, the original, is talking with you right now. She's sleeping in her bed, reading her books, living her life. I thought they were mine! I thought that was me! It's not though, it's not! And now I have to find a way to live without you guys, to never see you again, because if I did I would wreck your lives, and cause all kinds of problems for everyone."

Katie raised her eyes to the mirror again. In the reflection, she saw the picture Elizabeth had drawn for her. The Doctor's figure seemed to leap out at her. She gave a weak smile as the last 2 days replayed in her mind.

"I think you would have approved. Sure, he doesn't talk about himself much, and there's an age gap of 888 years, and so far life with him isn't exactly the definition of safe, but he's a good guy. Smart, strong, a little too puffed up. He's not violent, like I am. Sweet, a real gentleman when he feels like it. Mostly not though. He doesn't really care if others like him, but I can tell he likes it better that way. Same as me. He's patient. I don't think I'll ever be in love with him, not in a marriage way, but friends….yeah. We can be friends."

She stood up, and looked down at her pictures again, then smiled wider. "Yeah. You would have approved."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p>

*There you have it: the second episode in my series. Once again, not everything has been answered. Once again, tough. You'll just have to read my next one. It's out, the title is "One Shot". Why? Read it and you'll see.

Now go recommend this to all your friends.*


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